Sketch Challenge 47

I can't believe that we are already on Sketch Challenge #47!!  I really enjoy these challenges and doing them with My Digital Studio.  It stretches me to come up with different interpretations each week.  This week I actually did two cards for the challenge.  It was a fun sketch.



Tea Time II kit

Most of the creating work I did for this card used embellishments from Tea Time II digital kit. Embellishments in My Digital Studio can be elements you'd normally think of: brads, ribbon, buttons, but they are also beautiful digital images that can be moved and/or made smaller and layered to create beautiful additions to your cards and pages. I'm so excited about My Digital Studio II (which is coming soon!) because they will be adding the ability to color embellishments, too!

This MDS card uses DSP from the Summer Smooches.  The stamps are from Mouthwatering.  This would be easy to re-create with paper and stamps too.

Check out what the other Queens made this week using this sketch HERE.

Pleasant Poppies

I just love the colors in this card!  The Pleasant Poppies stamp is a single stamp with so much potential!  This is just one of the cards that I created with it.  

I stamped the poppies in black ink and colored them with my markers using mostly Soft Subtle colors.  I originally had stamped them and tried coloring them with darker colors but didn't like the look.  I prefer these soft colors - So Saffron, Baja Blue and Pink Pirouette.  I matted the Whisper White onto Black and adhered that to the Marina Mist.  I used a retired ribbon in Marina Mist to tie around the card.  I really miss the wide grosgrain ribbon! 

I played Bridge today ... had a little better cards today than I had last time but still nothing to write home about.  It was a fun day with friends though.  Today I am taking my Mom to yet another doctor!  But this time it is to Dr. Allen, her regular doctor for her 6-month check up.  He had wanted to see her after she saw the neurologist so I'll be killing 2 bird with 1 stone at least.  She started her Physical Therapy today and Angela said they had her in tears.  I'm sure but she needs to start moving around more.  She'll do PT twice a week.  Angela is going to take her this week and I'll be taking her next week - fitting it around bridge and my club meetings.

Our heat is supposed to abate a bit this week.  We sure could use some rain!

Have a good week!  Don't forget Tuesday is Stampin' Up's new digital downloads so check them out!

Bootiful Occasions

Another hot one today!  We tied the record I believe at 101 degrees and it's still 88 degrees at 9:30 pm.  We took our boat out this morning and went to breakfast.  Then we found a quiet cove to throw the anchor and swim.  We both had books to read on the boat but I could only read about a chapter before I had to jump in the water and cool off again.  I could only stand it for a couple of hours before I told Sonny we or go home or I was going to melt.  So, we went home and I got creative with one of my new stamp sets.

The Bootiful Occasions stamp set (found on page 50 of the new Stampin' Up catalog) was one of my "must have" sets when I first looked through the book.  It has four boot images and a “happy Boot-Day” sentiment.  I think it will be great for a masculine card as well as the Halloween image and the Christmas image.  Today I made three cards with it using all but the Christmas boot.  (I'll do it later in the week and share.)



Take #1 of the Halloween Boot

After taking the picture of the witches boot, I decided it needed a little something else.  So, I added a little bow.  What do you think? 

Take #2

close up of the bow

For the Witches Boot, I stamped the boot and the sentiment in Elegant Eggplant.  I cut this stamp apart so the image and the sentiment are separate.  Then I colored in the dots using a Copic marker.  Then I embossed the white card stock using the Spiderweb embossing folder.  The bottom Elegant Eggplant card stock is embossed with the Stripes embossing folder and then the edge was punched with the Scallop Edge Punch.  A strip of black cardstock was layered between the white and Eggplant.  I was able to tie that itty bitty bow using my Bow Maker.  Sonny is still making them if you are interested in purchasing one.

Next is the Cowboy Boot.  I can see all kinds of uses for this stamp!  I have lots of Texas friends that this stamp is perfect for.  I have gotten rid of all my cowboy boots (had black, navy, and red boots at one time).  This is another one I thought needed a little something else after I took the picture.



Take #1 Cowboy Boot

 

Take #2

I colored in the bottom part of the boot with the Midnight Muse marker.  Here are the deets:  Stamp the boot 3 times - once in Midnight Muse on the Crumb Cake cardstock; once in Midnight Muse onto white scrap and lastly the stars in Versamark on scrap white.  Use Cherry Cobbler embossing powder on the stars and adhere them to the boot with glue.  I used dimensionals to attach the white boot to the one stamped on the Crumb Cake. 

Ingredients for Cowboy Boot :

Paper:  Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Newsprint DSP

Ink:  Midnight Muse, Versamark

Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler emb. powder, Heat Gun, Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine, dimensionals

Next is the Rain Boot card.  Do you know all the names for this shoe?  How about  rubber-boots, wellies, wellingtons, topboots, billy-boots, gumboots, gumbies, gummies, barnboots, wellieboots, muckboots, sheepboots, poopkickers, or rainboots!!  My friend Margaret calls them "wellies".  I like poopkickers!!  I wore these "wellies" a lot when I was gardening when we lived in Washington state but I haven't worn them much since we left.  They are great for mucking around in the mud!

I only did one take on this card - didn't see a need for any changes.  I used the Two Tags Die and my Big Shot to cut out the tag and stamped the boot in Black.  I used the Cherry Cobbler marker to color in the boot.  I used the Adorning Accents embossing folder (hearts) on the white card.  The Cherry Cobbler strip is die cut with the Adorning Accents Edgelit and then embossed with the Adorning Accents embossing folder (scallops).  The DSP is Twitterpated.  I drew the stems and leaves in with a marker for the flowers.  The flowers are punched out with the Itty Bitty Punch Pack.  I used a tiny pearl for the middle of each flower and a brad and a piece of red twine at the top of the tag.

Postage Due

I was on a roll this weekend and made several cards with my new stuff as well as some old stuff.  Postage Due (pg 108) is one of the stamp sets that didn't catch my eye at first.  But, after seeing a lot of the samples from others, it grew on me.  This is a little outside my norm; just like the set I bought last year, Daring Adventure.  But I love to try and stretch myself.

I started out embossing the Crumb Cake card with the Tulip embossing folder.  I stamped the large Postage Due stamp  with Early Espresso onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  Then I distressed the edges and matted it onto Cherry Cobbler.  It's hard to tell but I also stamped a portion of the stamp on a scrap piece of Vanilla and tore it, sponging around the edges before lining it up and adhering it on the larger piece.  I also stamped the flower separately in Cherry Cobbler, cut it out and adhered it.  I stamped the postage stamps in Cherry Cobbler, Espresso and Midnight Muse and then punched them out with the Postage Punch and adhered them with dimensionals.  Happy Anniversary is stamped in Midnight Muse, punched out with the Banner Framelit and adhered with dimensionals.

Click on the cards to view them larger.


Postage Due

Here is another version of the Postage Due stamp.  This time I stamped just the bicycle part onto a piece of DSP (retired) in Basic Gray.  The postage stamps are stamped in Cherry Cobbler and Basic Gray and punched out with the Postage Punch.  The strip of DSP across the middle is matted with Cherry Cobbler.  There is a strip of Whisper White at the bottom that is punched out with the Adorning Accents Edgelit.

Close up of postage stamps and Edgelit trim

Did you watch fireworks last night?  We went out on our boat around 6.  It was starting to thunder and I was afraid we were going to get caught in a storm but it passed over.  We settled down in a cove across the lake from Queens Landing, where the fireworks were going to be shot off.  Sonny and I took our books and did a little reading, took a nap, and ate our dinner while waiting for the fireworks to begin.  There were a lot of individuals all around us shooting off fireworks so it was entertaining while we were waiting.  Finally the fireworks started at 9:45 but only lasted about 15 minutes.  In the past, they've usually lasted about 30 minutes.  I don't know if they ran out of fireworks or had some kind of technical difficulties.  It was pretty disappointing.  But luckily, we did not have to sit in traffic to drive home - just a little boat traffic. 

Happy 4th!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!



made with MDS

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!  We joined my mom and Angela last night at their church to watch the fireworks put on by Lowe's YMCA.  We have usually watched the fireworks in the parking lot very close to where they put them off.  I think I like that location better - seems like you are right under them.

Tomorrow night we will probably go out on the boat to watch fireworks again.  These are put on at Queens Landing over the lake.  I enjoy laying down on our boat and watching the display.

It is Wednesday and time for the Stamping Queens Sketch Challenge.  We decided to all do a patriotic card this time in honor of the 4th.  Here is mine:

Need A Reason to Smile?

There are plenty of reasons to smile in July with the Reason to Smile set that is yours for just $5!!

Promotion Details:

• Dates:  July 1 - 31, 2012
• Spend $50 on any current Stampin' Up! products to get the exclusive Reason to Smile Set for just $5.
• Orders may be placed on any order type (customer, workshop guest or online)
• There is a limit of one (1) set per customer.
• You will not be automatically prompted to enter the $5 Item Number for a qualifying purchase.  You must use one of these item numbers after your order reaches $50 or more: 
  • Wood Mount 131274
  • Clear Mount 131275
• Valued up to $20.95
• The Reason to Smile Set is exclusive to this promotion and will not be available after July 31, 2012.
• Deadline:  Tuesday, July 31, 2012; 11:50 PM (MT) 

Great flower set plus two-step stamping

And here are a couple of projects made with the stamp set.  Click on the picture to enlarge.

Short Trip!

Well, I'm back!  Too bad - We left so full of hope and excitement of helping others to return pretty disillusioned with the whole process.  Saturday didn't start off any better than Friday had.  We were told when we all parted ways on Friday night that we were to report to Red Cross hdq. at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.  I texted our leader Friday night to tell her we would see her in the lobby of the motel at 8 for breakfast.  Well, I was awakened at 7 a.m. Saturday by her asking me where we were - the others were down in the lobby!  I told her I thought we were meeting up at 8.  Oh no, she told me she changed that during the night.  Hmmm - would have been nice to tell all the team members!  They were going to have a team meeting in the lobby and then head over to Red Cross.  We quickly dressed and joined the others for our meeting which was basically outlining that she was the supervisor of the group and did everyone understand that.  Luckily, there is one lady in our group (besides me) who doesn't mind speaking her mind which she did during the meeting, outlining a lot of the complaints we all had of the situation so far.  Sonny and I had breakfast and got our stuff packed and actually arrived at Red Cross before the other 2 cars did - they were lost once again!  We stood around at headquarters for about 1 1/2 hours and finally decided that we wanted to drive over to the damaged area just to say that we had seen something besides a mall!  So we did, leaving our supervisor at headquarters to sort out what we were supposed to do.  Here is most of what we saw:

This was Rising River Resort - think they had camping and cabins.  See the wrought iron gate - water was up to the middle of it.

This was an ABC store and bar that had sandbags at the doors but the water was up to the foundation.

Our team inspecting the damage!

A gas station flooded out.

Dee called us before we got to Lake City where there was an open shelter and wanted us to pull over so she could talk to all of us on speaker phone to make some team decisions.  She told us there was no need for us as a team in Florida, Colorado or Montana; it turns out that the team that arrived from California - AFTER we arrived, were sent out to a shelter (when we were told there was nothing); but if one of us (with experience) wanted to be a Food Supervisor, there was a need in Tallahassee.  No one wanted it!  So, flight reservations were made for us to return to NC on Sunday!  We returned to Gainesville and met Dee for lunch.  She said our team leader who had arrived the day before us had not told the staffing at headquarters that needed to know the info that we were even coming.  (I think there is a huge power struggle between these two.)  In the meantime, our team leader (Marge) had been promoted on site to Shelter Manager (probably thus not giving the attention that was needed to her team members, several who had never been on a deployment.)  So, she wanted us all to drive to where Marge was and confront her with our issues.  We did that but again, another waste of time!  It was basically a "he said, she said" situation.  Marge says she told people we were coming; that it was their fault. Sonny and one of the other guys actually walked out of the meeting.  I don't think they really wanted to hear from Sonny at that time!  Anyway, after all that, we all headed to Jacksonville (except for our supervisor as she was going to Tallahassee to take that other position until someone could relieve her.)  We at least had a fun time the little bit of time we were in Jacksonville.  I led us to a restaurant on Atlantic Beach - about 30 minutes away - and we had a good dinner and even took a short walk on the beach.  So, at least I got my toes in the sand!!

me, Sharon and Nan at Ragtime in Atlantic Beach

The girls on the beach!

Sonny and Jim on the beach.

To top it off, when we were at breakfast Sunday morning at the hotel before heading to the airport, there were 3-4 Red Cross workers there also.  They asked us where we were headed and we told them home since there was nothing to do.  They had just arrived and were headed to Gainesville to work in a shelter.  I'm sure when they got there, they were told to turn around and go home also.  But what a waste of money - plane tickets, car rentals, food, lodging, etc.

 So I am home!  While I was gone, I got a Stampin' Up delivery that I need to unpack and start creating with some of the goodies.  I have 4 new stamp sets that I am itching to use!  Stay tuned tomorrow for some new creations.

Our frustrating day

Let's hope tomorrow goes better than today!  We arrived at the Charlotte Red Cross office at 7 a.m. Friday  to meet up with the other 5 members of our team that we were deploying with.  Everyone had their airline confirmation info except Sonny and I!!  We finally received the info when we arrived at the airport.  We had a couple of hours before our flight so we all headed to get something to eat.  You know how it is when you have a group of people .... everyone can't agree on anything and no one wants to make a decision!  As it turned out, Sonny & I went in to a restaurant to have breakfast while the others headed to the Burger King at the airport.  I figured our next meal would be quite a while away and wanted to make sure I got some real food in my stomach.  Then we boarded the plane and there was a major discussion as to whether we switch our seats with each other so we were sitting with our spouses.  Come on .... it was only an hour flight!!  I was in Row 11 at the window and Sonny was behind me on an aisle.  I wasn't switching with anyone and wind up in a middle seat.  Plus our seats were Exit Rows ... double the reason not to switch!!  We ended up flying into Orlando; renting 3 cars and driving to Gainesville.  Sonny was the driver of one of the cars with me as his passenger.  Well, the other 2 cars pulled over on the turnpike/interstate a couple of times for the gal in charge of our team to complain that he wasn't putting his turn signal on when he changed lanes every time and they were having trouble keeping up with us plus she thought he was going to fast (earlier she had complained about the other driver going to fast so that guy dropped back behind us.)  We were going the speed limit but that was too fast for her!!  Two of the cars had GPS systems and we were only going a couple of hours down the road.  Why couldn't we all just meet up at the destination instead of having to piggy back with each other.  We stopped for lunch about half way and she told us we had to switch drivers.  She wanted me to drive our car and one of the other gals to drive the other car.  I told her I did not want to drive & Sonny was doing just fine.  Sonny was about to blow up!!   Anyway, we finally arrived at the Red Cross headquarters in Gainesville which is the staging area for all the shelters.  (We arrived there while the other two cars were lost and going in circles!  They finally called us to ask how to get there!)  As is the case most times with the Red Cross, it is a "hurry up and wait" situation.  They did not have accomodations for us for the night and claimed they didn't know we were coming which is not true since the other half of our team arrived yesterday.  Plus, we found out that there had been 11 shelters open in the area but they had closed all of them except 2!  Keep in mind that there are people coming in here from all over and we heard that there are 4 teams coming in this weekend from California!  The other part of our team who got here yesterday were sent to Lake City this afternoon but by the evening they were sent somewhere else because they were not needed in Lake City.  So, we found a local mall and walked around while they found a hotel for us nearby.  We are staying at the Days Inn tonight but who knows for tomorrow.  Sonny & I left the others at the mall while they were eating at yet another fast food restaurant.  (Keep in mind that we are given quite a bit of money from the Red Cross for our expenses so you don't have to do fast food.)  Anyway, after we checked in to the hotel, we found a local bar and grill in the university area and had a meal, a couple of adult beverages and chilled out!  It could be that we go back to the headquarters tomorrow and are told we are not needed and have to make arrangements to fly back to NC!  I have suggested to Sonny that if that is the case, we see if we are needed in Montana or Colorado and go there to help with the fires.  We're packed and have made arrangements for the next couple of weeks, so why not? 

Stay tuned for this evolving story!!  Thanks for letting me vent!

I'm Traveling .... Again!

My postings may be sporadic for the next couple of weeks.  Sonny and I are deploying Friday with the Red Cross to the flooded areas of Florida.  We will fly into Gainesville and I have no idea where we will go from there.  Since this is our first deployment, we really don't know what to expect.  And we don't know if we will be staying in a shelter or in a hotel .... my hope is for the hotel!!  One team from Charlotte left on Thursday and the second team, that Sonny & I are in, will leave on Friday.

Here is a link to our local news about our deployment.

Volunteers for local chapters of the American Red Cross always are needed to respond to natural disasters, near and far.  Residents must be 18 or older to volunteer and are required to complete some training. Volunteers who wish to be deployed also must get experience locally.   Whenever someone is displaced by natural disaster, most often a fire, the volunteers go in and meet with the people and  provide for their immediate relief as far as shelter, clothing and food.   We also try to link them with other community organizations for long-term help.

On another note, I took Mom to see the neurologist today.  He actually gave her a physical exam!  The reason this is so surprising is that the surgeon or the pain mgt. doctor never gave her an exam.  The most they did was feel her ankles and test her strength in the feet and legs.  Not once in all this time did they touch her back area where she was hurting when she was in their office.  I had gathered all her charts from the doctors but did not get the films (MRIs) from the hospital.  Of course, that is the one thing that he wanted!  He does not want to make a diagnosis without looking at the films.  So, Angela is going to get them and take them to him and Mom will return to see him next Thursday. 

Pinwheels